Showcase subbottom



July 28, 1942. D, T, WADDELL 2,291,064

SHOWCASE SUB-BOTTOM Filed July 3, 1939 INVENTOR. .EIG. 5. fl 1' Moms.

BY MQ M ATTORNEYS.

Patentecl July 28, 1942 SHOWCASE SUBBOTTOM Dean T. Waddell, Green The Waddell Compan a corporation of Ohio Application July 3, 1939, Serial No. 282,576

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a sub-bottom to be placed on the floor of the usual type of show case for displaying candy or other merchandise and on which the merchandise rests when in the show case.

It is an object of my invention to provide a subbottom which may be easily removed for cleaning and which conveniently fits between the usual dividers of the usual show case.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a sub-bottom having a hump or projection substantially parallel with the front of the case for retaining merchandise against the front portion of the case for display, for making scooping of contents easier and with less damage to contents as the rear slanting side, causes the merchandise to fall back into the scoop and helps to eliminate crushing or injuring, by means of this action; for using the forward slant as a rest and to hold in position shams for so called sham displays.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a sub-bottom having a slope or hump substantially parallel with the rear of the case in order to prevent the merchandise from falling out of the rear When being dispensed and at the same time to assist or start the action of the scoop for removing the merchandise by drawing it below the merchandise and thus making dispensing simpler and at the same time to prevent crushing or breaking of the merchandise by the leading edge of the scoop.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a sub-bottom, which by having the front and rear humps as previously described, form an upright support or brace for the dividers, which in turn form the multiple compartments or bins, thereby doing away with the customary divider supports.

These and other objects of my invention which will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading this specification, I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is now made to the drawing which forms a part thereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a typical show case containing my sub-bottom in position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my sham bottom.

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the section line 33 of Figure l.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, I provide a sub-bottom formed preferably of tin plate or any other metal although I do not intend to field, Ohio, assignor to y Inc., Greenfield, Ohio,

limit myself to this specific material from which my sub-bottom is formed. The sub-bottom lies on the floor of the show case thus covering and protecting the same and has a hump substantially parallel to the front of the case stuck up for retaining merchandise between the front of the hump and the back of the forward glass plate. This forward hump also hasa back slanting side which may be used as abutment in scooping up the contents of the show case. A slanting portion is formed at the rear portion of the sub-bottom to prevent merchandise from falling out of the case when the dispensing door is opened.

Referring to the drawing, I show the usual show case having a bottom or floor I with a front glass portion 2 and a top glass portion 3. This type of show case is usually divided into compartments by means of glass dividers.

My novel sub-bottom consists of a flattened main portion 5 having a forward hump 6 comprising a front wall 1 and a rear wall 8. I preferably provide a front lip 9 which is in the same plane as the body portion 5. The rear of the sub bottom is bent up to form a slanting portion ill at the rear and is preferably bent down again at II to support the slope II].

My sub-bottom is configured so as to lie on the floor of the show case and substantially cover all of the floor area of a compartment, The subbottom may be held in position by the rear portion H being positioned in a saw kerf ll, in the door track and in front of the groove l3 or by abutment against the door track itself. It may be advisable to eliminate the portion ll since my sub-bottom, due to its configuration and the weight of the contents, is not apt to move.

From the above it is noted that my sub-bottom may be easily removed for cleaning and that the front wall 7 of the stuck up portion 6 retains merchandise l4 between the front wall 2 and the slanting portion 1 thus insuring the constant display of merchandise at the front of the case even when the case is almost empty.

The slanting portion II] at the rear of the subbottom prevents merchandise from rolling out when the door I5 is opened for dispensing. It is apparent that in removing the contents by means of a scoop, the leading edge of the scoop is placed against the slanting portion III, which is normally free of merchandise, and slid downwardly under the merchandise and in contact with the main portion of the sub-bottom 5. This insures that the sharp leading edge of the scoop slides under the merchandise and does not crush or injure the same. When the show case is almost empty, the scoop may be readily filled with merchandise by sliding it forward until it abuts the wall 8. This abutment, as is apparent, stops any forward movement of the merchandise and forces it to slide into the scoop, or excess merchandise into the space I4 thereby keeping the front of the case filled, resulting in a better display.

I do not desire to limit myself to the specific configuration or relative size of the different parts since the ridge or bent up portion 6 may be either straight or grooved depending upon the configuration of the front of the case. It may be preferable to make the hump 6 extremely high or relatively low depending upon the merchandise in the case. The distance of the hump 6 from the front of the case may also vary depending upon the merchandise displayed.

It is to be understood that different forms of my preferred form may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention thereof.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

In combination with a show case having a fiat base and afront display panel, a removable subbottom comprising a rectangular piece of sheet metal adapted to lie on said base in substantial conformation thereto, said piece of sheet metal being characterized at the front end by a relatively narrow transverse portion in the plane contacting said base, the front edge of which is adapted to lie substantially against the front display panel, an upstanding ridge formed of contiguous planar portions of said sub-bottom bent at an angle to each other to provide a forward face substantially parallel to said front display panel, and a rearward angularly related face at an angle thereto, to form a scooping abutment, said piece of sheet metal being further characterized near its rear end by a second upstanding ridge formed of contiguous planes, the forward face of said second ridge forming a large acute angle with said base contacting portion whereby to facilitate scooping and to form a stop for retention of material in said show case, the portion of said sub-bottom between said ridges being in I the plane contacting said base, said sub-bottom beingof a length substantially equal to the interior widthof the base of the show case, and said upstanding portions of adjacent sub-bottoms adapted toform holding means for vertical division'walls for said show case placed therebetween.

DEAN T. WADDELL. 

